Giant Mixed-Used Development Project in Nashville Levels With Coronavirus Impact

A massive new mixed-use development is taking shape in Nashville. The estimated $450 million, 6.2 acre Fifth + Broadway development will have it all: restaurants, retail, entertainment, office space, residential units, and the new National Museum of African American Music. It's a veritable city within a city and an excellent example of the live-work-play concept, as Patrick Sisson describes the project. Recent events have raised questions about the potential impact of new coronavirus considerations on the future of Fifth + Broadway. "In an economy and urban landscape reacting to an ongoing pandemic, will these so-called 'transformative' city-within-a-city projects still have a place?," wonders Sisson.

Dene Oliver, chief vision officer at Brookfield, the developers of Fifth + Broadway, says restaurant doors won't open until March 2021 and that leasees of office space aren't planning to occupy the space until the first half of 2021. Nashville residents can't see the downtown area losing popularity anytime soon. In the past ten years alone, the downtown population has more than doubled from 5,000 to 12,000 residents. Oliver considers the coronavirus pandemic to be a temporary setback to what will ultimately be a successful project.